Islanders, Panthers, Lightning Seeing Average Home Attendance On The Rise

NHL Eastern Conference teams are seeing average home attendance up 3.5% through Jan. 17, with the last-place Hurricanes the only club in the conference with a decline (-2.2%). Despite being near the bottom of the standings, the Islanders lead all clubs with a 25.6% jump at the gate to date. The team, however, ranks last in the conference in attendance and is filling Nassau Coliseum to only 78.3% capacity. The Panthers, who are in contention to make the playoffs for the first time since '00, are seeing a 10% increase in attendance at BankAtlantic Center. The Lightning have seen attendance jump 9.9% at Tampa Bay Times Forum despite struggling on the ice. Listed below is team-by-team attendance for NHL Eastern Conference teams through Jan. 17, with comparisons to the same period last season. See yesterday's issue for Western Conference figures (THE DAILY).

NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE THROUGH JAN. 17

HOME TEAM

GMS

TOTAL

AVG.

% CAP.

PREV.

% +/-

GMS ('10-11)

Canadiens

23

489,279

21,273

100.0%

21,273

0.0%

25

Flyers

19

374,700

19,721

100.9%

19,607

0.6%

21

Maple Leafs

23

448,749

19,511

103.7%

19,303

1.1%

23

Senators

24

461,283

19,220

100.4%

18,259

5.3%

24

Sabres

25

466,859

18,674

99.9%

18,310

2.0%

22

Lightning

20

372,638

18,632

97.0%

16,955

9.9%

19

Penguins

21

389,700

18,557

100.9%

18,217

1.9%

24

Capitals

24

444,144

18,506

100.0%

18,398

0.6%

26

Rangers

20

363,652

18,183

99.9%

18,036

0.8%

23

Bruins

24

421,540

17,564

100.0%

17,565

0.0%

23

Panthers

22

367,384

16,699

86.7%

15,182

10.0%

22

Hurricanes

25

381,389

15,256

81.7%

15,603

-2.2%

20

Devils

20

302,416

15,121

85.8%

14,205

6.5%

22

Jets*

23

345,092

15,004

100.0%

n/a

n/a

n/a

Islanders

24

304,913

12,705

78.3%

10,112

25.6%

21

E.C. TOTALS

337

5,933,738

17,608

95.7%

17,016

3.5%

338

NHL TOTALS

680

11,778,955

17,322

94.5%

16,974

2.1%

682

NOTES: Attendance figures for the Compuware NHL Premiere series and Bridgestone Winter Classic have been replaced with the team's home capacity. All NHL attendance data is based on totals posted immediately following games. Figures do not reflect any subsequent adjustments made by teams or the league. * = The Jets are playing in MTS Centre this season, having relocated from Atlanta, after the '10-11 season. Figures for the '10-11 NHL season include data for the Thrashers.